


Out Of The Woods

by nexparker



Series: Blood On Your Hands [3]
Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 乐华七子NEXT | NEX7, 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: I Watched Too Much Grey's Anatomy, M/M, Nex7, Nine Percent - Freeform, awaken-f, ding zeren scenarios, doctor!yanchen, gang!nex7, gang!oaca, gangmember!zeren, kinda whumpy, zhou yanchen scenarios
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 09:17:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15927422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nexparker/pseuds/nexparker
Summary: “Are we out of the woods yet?”Italics: FlashbackWord Count: 5.16KWarnings: blood, swearing, kinda graphic descriptions of wounds, lots of really inaccurate medicine, tropes.





	Out Of The Woods

“You really don’t know how to keep your mouth shut do you?”

“He was gonna find out eventually, to be honest. It’s just better coming from you.”

Yanchen glared at Zhou Rui as he shoved both the older resident and Linong into the dim supply closet. 

“Hey, don’t push!” Linong whined. Yanchen only huffed in agitation as a response, closing the door behind them. 

“Alright, now you have to tell me.” Zhou Rui commanded, folding his arms.

“Tell you what?” Linong asked, not having the slightest idea as to what was happening.

“Apparently, this one has some sort of secret life with secret activities and secret people outside the hospital.” Zhou Rui replied, nodding towards Yanchen.

“No, I don’t!” Yanchen protested. “It only was one night and you act like I secretly work for the government.” 

“What was only one night?” Linong pressed.

“Oh my god, you guys.” the younger resident whined, still hesitant to tell his friends about what he’d been getting up to. 

“C’mon, tell us. We’ll just keep bugging you about it if you don’t.” Zhou Rui coaxed.

“Fine!” Yanchen snapped, a sigh of defeat quickly following. 

“I, uh, found a guy... In an alleyway... late at night... he was bleeding out and I didn’t know what to do so--”

“What do you mean you didn’t know what to do?! You’re a doctor, you should know to bring him to the hospital!” Linong exclaimed. 

“Listen, I’m pretty sure if I did try to bring him here I probably would have died or something.” Yanchen replied, holding his hand up in defense. 

“Wait, I’m so confused.” Zhou Rui said. “You found this dude, bleeding out in a dark alleyway and you didn’t bring him here because he could have killed you all the while probably dying?”

“Not him. His friends. He’s a member of the Yuehua gang.” Yanchen said quickly, as if letting all of the air out of his lungs with his words, waiting for a reaction. 

“Yuehua... as in the Yuehua that attacked that man that came into the ER all types of messed up a few months ago?!” Linong asked, eyes growing wide.

Yanchen squeezed his eyes shut with his hands over his face, sighing. 

“Oh my god, you’re gonna die.” Zhou Rui slapped his hand to his forehead. “You’re going to get fired and then you’ll die.”

“Did he try to hurt you or anything?” Linong asked concernedly. 

“No, nothing happened. I just brought him back to my apartment, gave him some stitches and checked for a concussion and he left. It’s not that big a deal.” Yanchen replied, peeking through his fingers.

“It is a big deal! If people find out about this, you could be fired!” the older resident snapped.

“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you!” Yanchen protested.

“Oh my god, Yanchen. When I said you should get out more I didn’t mean that you should get wrapped up in gang activities!” Zhou Rui nearly yelled.

“Keep your voice down, would you?” Yanchen said, growing agitated.

Before any of the three could say anything more, the sounds of the residents’ pagers beeping echoed through the closet. Pulling it off of his waistband, Yanchen looked at the screen.

“It’s the ER. We have to go.” 

“You’re lucky someone’s dying. We’re not done here.” Zhou Rui grumbled, shoving it back into his scrub pocket. 

“I hope no one’s dying...” Linong muttered, following the residents as they pushed their way through the door.  He sometimes pondered about how maybe, just maybe, he was too soft for this job.

After flying down 7 flights of stairs, Yanchen did his best not to run into anyone or anything, his friend on his heels. By the time the pair reached the emergency room, Yanchen felt like throwing up from exertion.

‘Maybe I do need to get out more...’ he thought before he was practically shoved towards a trauma room by a 4th year resident.

As per normal, there were plenty of things that Yanchen was expecting to see in the emergency room: crush injuries, appendicitis and maybe even some severed limbs. He was prepared to deal with all of  **that**. 

However, he wasn’t ready at all to see Ding Zeren on one of the beds along the wall, coughing up blood and struggling to breathe.

* * *

**_EARLIER THAT DAY:_ **

“You can stop with the badass brave-faced act now.” Minghao said, shooting Zeren a look of annoyance. He sat on Wenjun’s bed, fiddling with the knife in his lap while Zeren got dressed, having just showered. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” the older member glared back, pulling a shirt on over his head, wincing a little bit at the sting in his side that had lived with him ever since his encounters with Mubo.

“I’m serious. It’s clear that it still hurts. You’re not subtle, Ge.” the youngest sighed. 

“I’m fine. Besides, since when do you care so much?” Zeren asked, half joking.

“Since Zhengting told me he’d kick my ass if I didn’t babysit you and make sure you were okay.” Minghao replied, poking at the tip of the blade with his pointer finger.

“I’m being babysat by a 16 year old.” Zeren huffed, trying not to signal to the youngest that it hurt to bend down to tie his shoes.

“At least I didn’t get myself shanked.” Minghao snorted.

“You’re just asking to be hit, you know that?” the injured one threatened. 

“Seriously though. You should rest more.” The youngest told Zeren.

 “I swear. I’m alright to go on the patrol.” Zeren replied, growing agitated with Minghao.

“You and I both know that’s a lie. But if you’re so sure...” Minghao trailed off. 

“I’m sure.”

“Fine. Just don’t like, die, or anything.” the blonde sighed. 

“You losers probably wouldn’t let me even if I tried.” Zeren rolled his eyes. 

* * *

“Here.” Quanzhe passed Zeren an ammunition clip that the brunette accepted, inserting it into his handgun.

“Are you sure you’re okay to come with us?” Xinchun asked Zeren quietly, trying to not make a big deal out of everything. 

Zeren caught Minghao watching their exchange, his eyes almost daring the older to wave off his injuries again. 

“I’ve rested for four days now. I’m fine.” Zeren reassured Xinchun, shooting him a quick smile as if to say ‘I promise I won’t die or anything’.

He saw the youngest roll his eyes in his peripheral vision. 

“Are you guys ready to go?” Wenjun asked, speaking for Zhengting who had just walked up.

A staggered chorus of “ready” came from the other members as they pocketed their weapons. 

“Let’s go.” Zhengting said, nodding his head towards the door. “Don’t forget that if one of you even gets the fleeting idea of splitting up, I’ll break your nose before you can bring it up.” The leader added. 

“We know, dad.” Minghao sighed as the members started to walk towards the door. “Let’s just go. It’ll be dark soon.”

“Just making sure everyone knows. After all, some of us have been out of commission for a while.” Zhengting replied, shooting a pointed look at Zeren. 

“Wenjun, Chengcheng and Quanzhe, you’re together. Minghao, Xinchun and Zeren are with me. Be back by 22:00.” Zhengting finished his sentiments as the gang walked out the door, each team heading in opposite directions.

* * *

It started quiet, none of the members really in a mood to talk. Zeren was grateful for this; he was still exhausted, even after resting for a few days. His head still throbbed--maybe he did have a bad concussion after all. Worst of all, the pain in his side never seemed to fade, the burning feeling still as present as it was when he first got the cut. 

It required all of Zeren’s energy just to walk upright enough to get the members to stop worrying, hence the reason he was glad no one was speaking. He didn’t want to have any more noise than need be ringing in his head. 

The brunette tried to shake the cloudy feelings away, only to make his headache worse. Zeren sighed softly out of agitation. 

It must have been Zimo who hit his head. He always had a really strong punch.

In an attempt to block out as much of his surroundings as possible, Zeren didn’t even notice that Yuehua’s youngest member had appeared next to him. 

“You seem to be holding up well. Just kidding! I’m surprised you haven’t died yet.” Minghao joked, speaking quieter as to not allow Zhengting to hear.

Zeren pulled himself back to reality, the feeling almost smacking him in the face.

“Do you want to continue to be able to call yourself the pretty one?” Zeren snapped with the strongest glare he could muster. “Because if so, I suggest you shut the hell up. I told you, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure? Because with the way you’re walking you look like you’re about to faint.” Minghao said in a way that made it seem like he almost actually cared. 

“Fucking positive.” Zeren replied, forcing the words out through gritted teeth.

“Sure.” Minghao replied, turning his attention forwards once more. 

Quiet fell over the boys once more, footsteps being the only sound proving they were there. 

Darkness fell slowly, the sky turning pink as the 4 members continued to patrol. The fading of light was a gift from god, at least to Zeren, who thought the sun was much too bright to be getting along with his headache. Footsteps grew heavier as they continued walking, keeping an eye out for things that could mean trouble. 2 kilometers became four and four became 6 as time went on; Zeren wasn’t exactly sure why he was breathing so hard, but he knew that the rapid rising and falling of his chest meant that he was still alive, which was all he could really focus on. 

At one point, Zhengting paused, turning to the other members who stopped after their leader. Some looked a little worse for wear than others, but they had all kept up.

“Let’s take a break here.” He suggested and almost immediately, Minghao plopped down on the curb, Xinchun following suit. 

“Ge, are you trying to kill me?” Minghao whined. 

“It’s only been two hours.” Xinchun reminded the youngest. 

“We’re usually done by the two hour mark though!!” 

Zhengting ignored the continuous gripes, focusing his eyes on Zeren. He knew the injured member wasn’t 100% yet, and it was starting to show, despite how hard the younger tried to conceal it. Zhengting had said nothing about him joining the patrols again, knowing Zeren was stubborn enough to fight him on it. 

If Zeren says he’s fine, who is Zhengting to say he isn’t?

* * *

“Oh my god, I never thought I’d see this place again.” Minghao said, running over to the building the base was housed in and hugging the wall. 

“We weren’t gone that long.” Xinchun reminded him. 

“Shut it.” the youngest said, shooting a glare in the direction of Xinchun.

Completely ignoring the antics of his members, Zeren slowly moved towards the door, still breathing harder than he should be. It was all he could do to not make any sounds of pain. If Zeren thought he was hurting before, he was deluded. The ache coming from his side had turned into a wildfire that raged across his whole torso. His vision was fading in and out of focus, his headache making it hard to see anything not blurry. His whole body begged for him to just  **stop moving.**  

Pushing open the door, Zeren dragged his immensely heavy feet to the bathroom as quick as possible, trying to avoid the concerned glaces he knew would be coming his way if the rest of the gang saw him. He shut the bathroom door behind him clumsily before leaning over the sink, trying to steady himself. The soft light wasn’t amazing for his headache, but he didn’t have the energy or means to turn it off.

‘Why is it getting worse?’ He asked himself, not expecting an answer but praying for one anyways. Zeren turned on the sink, splashing some water on his face with one of his hands, as if it would do something to make him feel better. Of course, it did nothing. 

After regaining his bearings just slightly, Zeren’s grip on the sink loosened and he stood up straight. Biting his lip, the brunette prepared himself for the worst before slipping his jacket off and pulling up the side of his shirt. He slowly worked the dressing that Yanchen had applied free from his skin, grimacing a little when the adhesive pulled on the sore skin.

“Oh my god.” Zeren felt like fainting upon seeing the wound. It was an angry red color around the border of the injury, but the actual wound had yellowish pus in it. It was clearly infected. 

Zeren knew what he had to do. He bit his lip harder, almost hard enough to draw blood as he opened the cabinet, searching for something to clean the cut out. He found a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, pouring a little onto a few paper towels he had found under the sink as well. 

Not trusting his legs to keep him upright during this process, Zeren sat on the sink, his back to the mirror, just as he had been days before. His hands shook as he picked up the soaked paper towels and lifted up his shirt again. Letting out a shaky breath, the brunette counted to three before pressing the wet paper to his wound. As he did, he immediately felt the sting of the peroxide invade his body. Groaning softly, Zeren grit his teeth as he continued to try and clean the injury. 

‘This almost hurts  **MORE**  than when I got it.’ He thought to himself, taking a break by pulling the towel away from his side.

Zeren didn’t want to agitate the wound any more than he had to, so he decided against trying to scrub at it. Instead, he tried to clean it out by just patting it gently for as long as he could handle the pain. 

After he had finished, Zeren let out another shaky sigh, letting his head fall back against the mirror gently as to not make it hurt any more than it already did. Eventually, the burn of the peroxide died down, leaving just the pain he was already almost accustomed to from the injury. He dropped the paper towels in the trash weakly, not moving from his position. Zeren stayed like that for a while, trying to regain some of the energy that cleaning the wound had zapped away. 

Once he finally moved, Zeren slowly opened the cabinet once again to look for something to cover the wound with. He found a large bandage inside of a broken first-aid kit that was missing many items. He was sure it was the only one Yuehua had ever owned, hence the reason there was only two bandaids, a pair of medical grade scissors and a three packets of ibuprofen in it. 

Zeren thought for a moment before grabbing a packet of ibuprofen as well before closing the kit and returning it to the position under the sink. 

Moving slowly as to not further anger his side, he pulled apart the paper concealing the bandage before lifting his shirt once more to put it on the cut. Zeren didn’t realize he was holding his breath as he did this until he started taking in oxygen after the covering was placed. 

He drew in deep, steady breaths as he ripped open the packet of ibuprofen and threw the pills back. He prayed they would bring him some relief as he took a drink of water from the sink. 

Zeren looked back at his reflection one last time before putting his jacket back on and pushing the bathroom door open, only to almost run straight into Minghao. The youngest held a mixed expression on his face: part agitation, part concern and part disappointment were scrawled into his features. He looked Zeren up and down before speaking. 

“You’re **fine** , huh? Because people who are ‘fine’ don’t lock themselves in the bathroom to hide the fact that they’re in pain.” 

Zeren stared back at the youngest, biting his already sore lip once more. 

“I’m--”

Minghao cut him off. 

“Don’t you fucking say it.”

Zeren glanced around, finding no one within the vicinity before going back to glaring at Minghao.

“Just admit to it, ge. It was fun and games earlier when we all messed with you, but now I’m serious: Tell Zhengting-ge or I will.” The blonde threatened, his eyes narrowing. 

Zeren pushed the younger aside and walked away without saying a word. He found his way to his room, making sure Wenjun wasn’t inside before entering and laying down on his bed. The room was dark aside from the dim yellow streetlight light that poured in through the window next to Zeren’s bed. It was quiet, no noise coming from the other members a few rooms over; Zeren assumed they were busy getting ready for bed.

Zeren sunk into his mattress, allowing the soft coils to mold to his body. The sharp sting from his cut seemed to have dulled slightly; Zeren wasn’t sure if it was because of the painkillers slowly working their way into his system or if it had just been so long that he had been in pain that he was getting used to it. His headache had reduced to a mere throb as well. 

He had just overdone it, that’s all. He’d be good as new the next morning. At least, that’s what Zeren tried to tell himself. 

He went back and forth, thoughts of his concerned members and of Yanchen and of how the hell Zeren was going to deal with what was coming bounced around in his head.

He’d figure it out in the morning.

* * *

Senses. There are 5 established ones:  **taste, smell, touch, sight and hearing**. All 5 of them overwhelmed Zeren as he gained consciousness, mixing together and crashing down on him like ocean waves.

“C’mon. Get up.” Zeren  **heard**  Wenjun’s voice above him. 

Opening his eyes, bright light from the window invaded his eyes, blinding him temporarily before his eyes focused, bringing the familiar face back into  **sight.**

The familiar  **smell**  of dust and Quanzhe’s cooking flooded his nose.

Nothing could be  **tasted**  because of how incredibly dry his mouth was, the feeling uncomfortable in a way nothing else could be.

But that discomfort was nothing to the  **feeling** of agony that resided in his chest. It was worst than the light and worse than the smell of burning toast and all other things combined. It almost felt like Zeren was drowning in his pain, the feeling invading his lungs and making it hard to move or even breathe. He took deep breaths, trying to get some air into his lungs.

“Are you seriously gonna fight me on this now, Zeren? I’m not in the fucking mood.” Wenjun whined.

Trying to steady his breathing, Zeren looked back up at Wenjun. 

“I’m going.” He said, attempting to conceal the shakiness in his voice.

“Good. Zhengting says he wants to have a meeting. Get your ass up and get to the main room.” the older said before walking back out of their shared room.

Zeren let out a breath before pulling himself to a sitting position slowly, despite pleas from his body to do the exact opposite of that. Swinging his legs off the bed, the brunette felt his feet hit the cool tile floor, sending a chill up his spine. Testing his strength, Zeren pushed down on his feet a few times before deciding to stand. 

Vertigo hit him like a bag of bricks. Zeren shut his eyes tightly and pressed the heel of his hand to his face, gritting his teeth until the dizzy feeling subsided slightly. Opening his eyes, Zeren began to put one foot in front of the other, stumbling a little bit as he walked out of his room, almost like a child taking their first steps. 

Entering the main room, the rest of the members stared as their injured member clumsily shuffled into the room in only a grey shirt that he was wearing the previous night and a pair of sweatpants. Zeren wasn’t quite sure how he ended up in the sweatpants or who they belonged to, but was a bit too preoccupied to care.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” Chengcheng called, smirking at the brunette’s bedhead and tired eyes. 

Zeren only shot him a weak glare in return as he took a seat on the couches where the members were gathered. 

"So, we didn't get to discuss the results of the patrol last night." Zhengting started.

"I mean, we just walked around for 3 hours, there's not much to discuss." Xinchun interjected.

“Just because you saw nothing, it doesn’t mean we didn’t.” Wenjun told him. 

“We saw Jing Peiyao and Zuo Ye on the corner of 9th and Central at around 20:30.” Quanzhe reported.

“What were they doing?” Zhengting asked.

“Not sure.” Quanzhe replied. “They just seemed to be loitering, but I think they might have been waiting for someone.”

“They looking for another fight? Let me at ‘em.” Minghao said, starting to get up from his seat before being pulled back down by Xinchun. The movement caused Zeren to shift positions, making the throb in his torso worse. 

“Things you will not do: that.” Wenjun shot the blonde a pointed look as if to say “sit your ass down”.

“What are we going to do?” Chengcheng asked, putting the question on everyone’s minds into words.

“We can’t do much. They’d have to physically enter our territory or engage in combat for us to technically do anything.” Zhengting explained.

“Did you forget this one got his ass kicked less than a week ago? I’d say that’s pretty combative!” Minghao exclaimed, gesturing to Zeren.

“He has a point, Zhengting.” Wenjun said.

“I know. But I don’t want to risk anything. There will be another patrol tonight. For now, stick to the normal rules: don’t engage combat unless attacked.” the leader replied. 

Nods came from each member at various intervals, even Zeren.

“Wenjun, you’ll lead Chengcheng, Quanzhe and Zeren there for the first shift. Xinchun, Minghao and I will take the next one.”

“Okay. Go get dressed, guys. We need to get the regular stuff done early.” And with that, the meeting was over. 

Each member pushed off the couch except for Zeren, who knew it was going to be a spectacle to see him try and walk again. Slowly working his way to a standing position just as he’d done when getting out of bed, the injured member felt all the blood rush from his head. The feeling was so intense, Zeren swore he was hallucinating that the floor was getting closer to his face.

Oh, wait.

* * *

“Shit! Zeren!” Quanzhe was the first to notice the falling member and tried to run towards him, not getting there in time to catch him completely, but just in time to keep his head from meeting the tile.

“Oh my god, is he okay?” Xinchun asked worriedly as Wenjun and Zhengting appeared next to the fallen member. Wenjun immediately knelt down next to Zeren, waving a hand over his face to check for any reactions.

“What happened?” Chengcheng (who had disappeared into the bathroom but emerged when he heard the commotion) inquired. His question died in the air once he saw Zeren on the ground.

Minghao was the only one who was quiet, the fact that it was unusual for him bringing a nervous tension to the whole situation. He only spoke once, and it was soft--almost like a muttering sound that was just loud enough for the others to hear.

“Lift his shirt.”

Turning back to the brunette’s limp body, Wenjun slowly reached down and tugged his shirt up. 

Zeren’s entire side was red, especially around the bandage placed clumsily over the side of his ribcage. Hesitating a little, the tall member continued and pulled the bandage away from the skin, exposing the gross nature of the wound to the air. 

“Holy fucking shit.” Chengcheng swore loudly.

Zhengting bit his lip before turning away from the scene. Moving towards Minghao with agitation in his eyes, the leader began to interrogate the youngest.

“I told you to keep an eye on him. How the hell did you think that this wasn’t important enough to tell me?!” He snapped.

Without missing a beat, Minghao replied coolly: “You and I both know that even if I did tell you, there’s no way he would admit to this.” 

Zhengting clenched his jaw--his way of showing he knew the youngest was right. He turned back towards the rest of the members: Quanzhe had Zeren’s head in his lap while Wenjun had his right hand on his forehead. Chengcheng stood by the sofa, his toothbrush still in his hand and Xinchun stood quietly, but concernedly off to the side. Wenjun had reapplied the bandage, trying to keep the members from getting woozy from looking at it.

Wenjun shattered the silence. “He has a fever. I think that means it’s infected.” He reported, pulling his hand away from Zeren’s head.

“Shit...” Zhengting swore breathlessly, running his hand through his hair. 

“Wait, I think he’s waking up.” Quanzhe said after noticing Zeren’s breathing starting to pick up. 

“W-what happened?” Zeren asked groggily as he opened his eyes, head still resting in Quanzhe’s lap.

“You fainted.” Xinchun replied flatly. 

“Really? Awesome.” Zeren replied, voice tight as the pain in his chest came back to him.

“No, not awesome. You’re a fucking dumbass.” Wenjun spoke down to the brunette.

“You guys are overreacting, I promise you I’ll be okay.” Zeren said, clearing his throat and coughing slightly. 

“If you say that one more time, I will break your jaw.” Zhengting warned, glowering at Zeren. 

Zeren continued to cough over Zhengting’s words, the sound getting louder and louder. 

“How long has it been like this?” Wenjun asked sternly.

“I-I d-d-don’t kn-now.” Zeren spluttered, trying to get air into his aching lungs as he held his hand to his face out of habit.

“What are we going to do?” Quanzhe asked, looking up at Zhengting for guidance.

Suddenly, the rough coughing coming from Zeren died down, shifting the focus away from Zhengting again.

Everyone stared in horror as red liquid dripped down Zeren’s hands onto the floor.

* * *

“19 year old male, admitted for hemoptysis (coughing up blood) accompanied with a large laceration (a big jagged cut) along his ribcage that appears to be infected. BP is 138/96 and his heart rate is through the roof.” 

Yanchen froze on the spot when he recognized that Ding Zeren was in his ER. Even worse, he was in terrible shape. 

‘What did he do to mess himself up this badly?’ Yanchen thought as he was pulled out of his paralyzed state by Zhou Rui’s call. ‘Doesn’t he know you’re supposed to rest when you get hurt?!’

Joining the Zhou Rui and Linong at Zeren’s bedside, Yanchen wordlessly put on gloves before grabbing an oxygen mask and pushed it into Zeren’s face in an effort to try and get some air in his lungs.

“How did this happen?” Zhou Rui asked, gawking at the infected laceration.

Pulling the mask away from his face, Zeren groaned in pain. 

“It hurts.” 

Yanchen quickly pushed the mask back towards his face before replying. 

“I know it does. Just hang on.”

“Get some blood from him, I think he might be at risk of septic shock (a really bad infection that can kill you if not treated), judging by this laceration.” Zhou Rui ordered. 

“Linong--” Yanchen turned to the nurse who quickly passed him a tourniquet and needle. After tying the tourniquet tightly around Zeren’s right bicep, Yanchen quickly swabbed the area with alcohol and located a viable vein. 

“Sharp pinch...” He warned Zeren, who was watching the whole process, still breathing hard into the mask. Pushing the needle into his arm, Yanchen expertly attached the other tube and began to draw his blood. 

“And it’s done.” Yanchen said reassuringly after removing the needle and placing a bandage over the site. 

Yanchen passed the blood samples to an intern who took off with them towards the lab. 

“Get him started on fluids, I’ll look at the laceration.” He said to Zhou Rui after turning his attention back to his patient. 

“Got it.” 

Yanchen moved around to Zeren’s left side, switching places with the other resident. Pulling his stethoscope away from his neck and putting the ends in his ears, Yanchen pressed the listening piece to Zeren’s heaving chest, trying to listen between Zhou Rui and Linong’s conversation and the beeping of the EKG beside his head.

“His breath sounds are fine, just fast.” He reported to Linong, who scribbled the information on Zeren’s chart. 

Replacing the stethoscope around his neck, Yanchen bent over slightly to get closer to the wound on Zeren’s side.

‘How did it get so bad? it’s only been a week! And I cleaned it... So nothing should have happened unless.... **Oh my god.** ’ He thought.

* * *

“There’s a piece of metal stuck in his side; It looks like it’s been in there for a bit too. When he fainted, it must have pushed it deeper and caused internal bleeding. That explains the coughing up blood.” Yanchen observed from the x-rays. 

“But how did he get that cut in the first place? It looks awfully similar to a knife wound.” the attending asked.

“I-I don’t know.” Yanchen lied through his teeth as he got flashbacks to the alley he had found Zeren in a week ago.

“Hmm. I’ll have the police look into it. For now, schedule him for surgery. You can scrub in (help in the surgery).” the attending replied before walking out of the room.

Yanchen released all the air he had been holding in his lungs, knowing he had dodged a major bullet for now.

But would he be able to keep it up?

* * *

“What do you mean he needs surgery?” Zhengting asked, looking worried. It was a much different look on him than the look Yanchen had originally encountered at 4 in the morning when he had picked Zeren up from his apartment complex.

“It’s usually a minor procedure, but considering the fact that the patient is at an extremely high risk for sepsis right now, there could be more complications.” Zhou Rui explained.

“Oh my god.” one of Zhengting’s friends sighed, combing his fingers through his hair worriedly. 

“He’ll be fine, Xinchun.” Another one spoke, placing a comforting hand on the first friend’s shoulder. 

“What are the possible complications?” 

“Organ damage or failure, gastrointestinal issues, death...” Zhou Rui started the list.

Zhengting turned away from the rambling older resident, his eyes narrowing when they met Yanchen’s. He spoke lowly, the ice laced in his threat teeming on the verge of deadly.

**“You better fix him. Because if you don’t, you’ll be worse off than he is right now.”**

**TO BE CONTINUED.**

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> So this part of the Blood On Your Hands Series was a bit more on the hurt/comfort/whump side of things and i’m curious to hear opinions.
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Grace


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